TPG-Axon Seeks To Remove SandRidge’s Board, Again

By Teresa Rivas

Among the things you might not have noticed over the holiday: the escalation of the fight between TPG-Axon Capital Management and SandRidge Energy (SD).

On Monday, the hedge fund sent SandRidge its third letter, notifying the board of directors that it is filing a lawsuit, alleging that the oil and gas company did not give shareholders enough time to vote on proposed changes to its bylaws.

TPG-Axon, which owns 6.7% of shares outstanding, wants the entire board removed—but it’s not the first time it’s agitated for change: Earlier in the month, the hedge fund said that it wanted to replace the board to clear the way for a potential sale. The company has tried to hold off such calls, adopting a stockholder rights plan in November and changing its bylaws, so that a majority shareholder vote would be needed to authorize certain changes, including board members.

Although the stock has gained some momentum on the movement from TPG-Axon, SandRidge is still down more than 20% in the past year. The stock was up slightly in afternoon trading.

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There are 2 comments

DECEMBER 27, 2012 2:28 P.M.

Dave wrote:

Tom Ward and the BOD must go. They are self serving and DON'T CARE about the shareholders. Also, nice way to funnel cash to your son Trent Mr Ward. See you at the trial.

DECEMBER 27, 2012 4:53 P.M.

Used to be in the 1 Percent.... wrote:

Hmm I wonder how long Sandridge can drag this out. If say 2 years, then their oil plays may be extremely profitable and it will be very hard to remove Ward and friends. Claims of this being a $20 stock is ludicrous though. No one is predicting that. Maybe if they sold all their Gas plays in 2007...

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Chris Dieterich has covered the U.S. stock market for The Wall Street Journal and Dow Jones Newswires. He is a graduate of Regis University and the Missouri School of Journalism.